There is a lot to do in order to fix Canada, according to Keith Roy, federal Conservative candidate for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country.
“People are struggling in every single part of this riding in different ways, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” he said.
Roy, a Whistler resident who grew up on the Sunshine Coast, was announced as the party’s candidate on Saturday, March 2.
Speaking with Pique, the longtime real-estate agent said the factors that motivated him to run have only grown stronger in the six months since he announced his intentions.
“People that were traditionally not Conservative voters have realized that the current NDP/Liberal program does not produce the results that Canada wants—it’s not working, your eyes aren’t lying to you,” he said.
“Things are bad in Canada, and [Pierre Poilievre] has a plan to make that better, and I want to be part of that team to help him do that.”
In seeking the party’s nomination, Roy’s platform focused on “Five C’s”: Common sense, climate, crime, the carbon tax, and congestion—and he said those priorities still hold true as he takes his message to a wider audience, starting with removing the federal carbon tax.
“The quickest way to provide economic relief to families in our riding is to stop taking money from them in the first place,” he said.
He described “congestion” as “the uniting feature of our riding,” citing insufficient road capacity and ferry delays in West Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, and up Highway 99—and took aim at federal environment minister Steven Guilbeault for saying the government would “stop investing in new road infrastructure” earlier this year.
“This is not a riding that lends itself to an elimination of road infrastructure,” Roy said. “Could we improve transit infrastructure? Yes, but that doesn’t mean that we stop building and maintaining roads.”
Roy said he understands the riding is well-versed in environmental politics—and the Conservatives can deliver.
“I don’t accept the premise that the Conservative Party is not for the environment—the Conservative Party is about conservation, it is about technology, it is about preserving the greatness of Canada ... but that doesn’t mean we should stop resource development in Canada,” he said.
Speaking to crime, he said he wants to help ensure Canadians feel safe in their own communities, saying “all the metrics in Canada are out of whack” on that front.
Finally, on the “common sense” principle, Roy said the current government is too often out of step with what the community wants in leadership.
“Our party is offering a uniting vision to put Canada towards a common cause where people can live safe, affordable lives in nice communities, with high-quality health-care and great education funded through strong economic growth and natural resource development,” he said.
With his background in real estate, Roy said he has a lot of experience with and knowledge of what Canadians are dealing with at home.
“I have spent my life in other people’s houses asking them to trust me to help them make one of the biggest decisions of their life. And that’s what I’m doing as a candidate,” he said. “I am going to meet with people at their doorstep, and I’m going to ask them to trust me, so when they make the decision to vote, they give me the opportunity to be their voice and represent them.”
Roy is going up against two-term incumbent Liberal MP, Patrick Weiler, who has a background in law and last won the riding with 33.9 per cent of all votes cast in the 2021 election (against 30 per cent for the Conservative candidate).
Roy was unequivocal that Weiler has achieved “no results” during his time as MP.
“People are struggling, people who you never would have thought would have struggled are struggling in Canada,” he said. “That’s the Liberal record, and I don’t hear [Patrick Weiler] speaking against his party on the issues that matter to people in this riding.”
Roy said he believes that while the next election could be as far as 18 months away, “Canada needs an election sooner rather than later, because the longer we go, the more damage they do.”
The next federal election must be held on or before Oct. 20, 2025.
